The Hives

Main Offender

Burning Heart/Big Wheel Recreation

Sweden is a land that lately has made its mark dealing insanely precise death metal and insanely precise postcore, such as the prematurely departed Refused (also on Burning Heart Records). The Hives make another addition to the catalog of Swedish musical forms, with insanely precise garage rock. Those who are already familiar with the Stooges/Iggy Pop, and the seminal Sonics, will need little prompting to understand and deify The Hives. If you’re unfamiliar with the aforementioned, but could stand to hear the musical equivalent of nitro-burning funnycars — powerful, bluesy, aggressive, over-before-you-know-it, what-was-that-do-it-again stuff — put these three on your shopping list: Sonics, Iggy Pop, Hives. Oh, and you may want to pick up an extra set of speakers, you’ll blow yours out soon enough.